A Voice Sent to Save
by IAmKayDubs
Summary: Matthew has been mute by choice for over three years, since before he even met his current lover by the name of Francis. Francis longs to hear his voice, and he tries many times, but Matthew can't bring himself to do it. After a near tragedy strikes, leaving Francis in a coma, Matthew decides to learn how to speak again, in order to speak to Francis, hoping it will help him awake.


As usual, when they woke up, and Francis murmured a good morning, he only got a nod and a smile back.

His lover would have been overjoyed to say "good morning" and "I love you", but he just... Couldn't.

Matthew had been mute for over three years then, by choice, but caused by an experience he still couldn't bring himself to explain in any way.

Francis usually didn't mind, but sometimes he longed to hear Matthews voice. He had become mute before the two had even met, so he had never heard it.

He would try the oddest ways of trying to hear Matthews voice. He would tickle his sides, trying to get a laugh or a protest out of him, but he would only get a silent chuckle. He would kiss Matthew neck, hoping for something... Anything... But Matthew would only smile and kiss him right back.

He even tried shouting at one point, when he was truly desperate, which had surprised and partially scared Matthew, causing him to retreat to the bedroom, and sending a panicked Francis in after him, apologizing profusely.

Now, as they lay in bed that morning, Francis was content, but deep down, he had a wish to hear words from between Matthews lips.

* * *

That day had progressed as normal, with Francis leaving for work early in the afternoon, and Matthew sitting down at the computer to do his job from home.

That is, until Matthew got a call late that night, about an hour after he had begun to worry about where Francis was.

He answered the phone, giving sort of a mumble of a cough in place of a hello. The person calling seemed to know he couldn't speak, for she just talked and didn't ask questions.

"Hello? Matthew Williams?" She started, sounding concerned. "This is Stephanie McClain at 's Hospital. I'm calling to inform you that your fiancé... Francis Bonnefoy... He's been admitted here... He was in an accident. He's currently unconscious, and the doctors don't know when... Or if, he will wake up."

Matthew wouldn't have been able to say anything even if he could speak. A chill had gone through his spine, and his stomach suddenly felt heavy. He gave another mumble of a response, signaling a good bye, and hung up the phone.

He stood for a moment in the kitchen, staring straight ahead. His eyes landed on a picture on the wall, one of him and Francis ensnared in the others arms, smiling and full of life.

He had to make sure Francis would be around long enough to take more pictures like that. He couldn't give up on him now.

He raced to his car and went as fast as he could to the hospital. He checked in, and sped to Francis's room. He stopped short when he saw the bed, with Francis's still form laying in it. He stared for a long time, just wishing he didn't have to see Francis like this. It hurt, and he didn't know how to do anything about it.

_"He must wake up."_ Matthew thought, as he went to the bedside, pulling up a chair. _"He will, for sure."_

Matthew held Francis's hand, even when the doctors came in and explained once again that it was a true possibility that Francis wouldn't wake up. for a long time, if at all.

Matthew stayed all night, mulling over his thoughts. He tried to think up a way to allow Francis to wake up... What would give him the incentive to hold on...?

Matthew licked his lips as he realized what he may need to do.

Francis had always wanted to hear his voice... Maybe if he could bring himself to speak again he could help Francis wake up.

He knew he had to try.

* * *

So the next day he left in the afternoon, leaving a kiss on Francis's forehead before leaving. He went straight home and grabbed his favorite book, staring at the first page intently.

_"Just read it out loud, Matt... Nobody is here, nothing can happen..."_ He thinks to himself, begging for the words printed on the page to fall forward on to his tongue.

"O-on..." He realized that after not speaking for so long his voice was rusty. "On... O-on the d-day..."

Matthew sighed. He knew he had just started, and that speaking would take a lot of work, but he wanted so desperately just to be able to run to Francis's beside and tell him everything he had bottled up for the last few years. He had told him some things in notes, but it wasn't the same to Matthew.

So, he kept at it. He continued on for the next five hours, only stopping for a few minutes to get a drink. By the end, he could speak a few sentences out loud to himself, and he was proud of that.

The next day he kept trying, and he continued on for days, using all of his free time after work and after other necessities to practice speaking to himself. After about two weeks, he was able to read pages near fluently out of the book, without stammering much at all.

He wanted to take the next step.

He texted his brother, Alfred, and asked him if he could come over. Alfred had accepted, and driven over, curious about Matthews motives.

"Hey, Mattie! What's with the sudden call for a visit?"

Matthew took a deep breath and tried to do what he had been hoping to for days.

"H-hi, Al-Alfred..." Matthew felt his lips trembling and his face heating up uncomfortably.

Alfred's eyes went wide, but in pleasant surprise. "Matt! You talked! You talked to me!"

"I.. I w-wanted... I wanted t-to show y-you..." Matthew managed to look away from his lap and at Alfred's face instead. "I-I've been p-practicing."

Alfred couldn't respond. He simply surged forward and pulled Matthew up off the couch, pulling him into an enormously tight hug. Alfred pressed his face into Matthew's shoulder, unable to contain how proud he was. Matthew hugged back as tight as he could, smiling at Alfred's reaction.

"I'm so proud of you Mattie!" Alfred smiled warmly as he pulled away, allowing Matthew to plant himself on the couch once again. "What brought about all this?"

Matthew lowered his head again, toying with his fingers. "I-I wanted to s-speak to F-Francis... To h-help him w-wake up..."

Alfred's face fell. He could tell how much Matthew was hurting, and he felt even prouder knowing he kept overcoming it, even when the pain was intense. The fear of Francis not waking up had hit everyone hard, but it had stabbed Matthew directly in the heart.

"I see..." Alfred took a seat next to his brother, setting a hand on his shoulder. "I'll help you in any way I can!"

"T-thank you."

They practiced the rest of the day. Alfred would start a conversation, and Matthew would do his very best to keep it going. By the end of the day, Matthew was feeling almost as confident speaking to someone else as he did speaking to himself.

"A-Alfred?"

"Yeah, Mattie?"

"Can y-you bring Arthur tomorrow?" Matthew tried to concentrate on not stuttering. "I want to try w-with more people."

Alfred smiled. "Of course! He'll be proud of you, too!"

Matthew managed to smile too.

* * *

As promised, Alfred showed up with Arthur by his side, hands intertwined, at Matthews door the next day.

Alfred had not told Arthur why Matthew had called them over, instead leaving it as a surprise.

Not expecting a spoken response, Arthur casually spoke. "Good afternoon, Matthew. Good to see you."

"It's... It's good to see y-you too."

Arthur looked up, his eyes wide just as Alfred's had been.

"You're speaking?" Arthur was truly shocked.

Matthew nodded. "I'm l-learning again... For F-Francis..."

Arthur let his gaze drop a bit. After Matthew, Arthur had been hurt the most by Francis being confirmed to be in a coma. They were childhood friends and the thought of losing him had given him a sharp chill down the spine.

"I-I wanted to practice w-with two people. I want to s-speak fluently again."

Arthur nodded, and they all practiced. By the end of that day, a long one for sure, Matthew felt truly confident in himself. He only stammered once or twice in a paragraph, and his voice was just a tad stronger than it had been in previous days.

The two had left, bidding Matthew good luck, for they knew his plan for the next day.

He had visited the hospital a few times since that night, but he planned on going as soon as visiting hours started so he could finally speak to Francis. He clung to some hope that in his unconscious state, Francis could still hear him. He hoped that even if Francis never woke up, he would die having heard Matthew's voice in some way.

Matthew slept deeply that night, but woke up easily, ready to go see Francis.

He drove to the hospital once more, checking in and entering the room as usual. He sat in the chair that hardly ever moved from Francis's bedside and picked up his limp hand. He held the slightly calloused palm against his, his fingers curled around the others tightly, trembling slightly.

He took a deep breath, and finally did what he'd been trying to do.

"Francis..."

Matthew sighed, as if he had expected a response.

"I'm here... I-I'm right here Francis... I'm speaking..."

Matthew felt a hot tear burning in the corner of his eye.

"Francis, I love you... So much... A-and it feels so great to actually s-say that..."

Matthews feels the tear sliding down his cheek.

"Francis, I truly do love you... I've been learning to speak so I c-could tell you that... And I just wish I knew if you could a-actually hear me..."

Matthew put his other hand on the one he held and pulled the set of three hands up to eye level. He reached foreword and set his lips on Francis's fingertips. He felt his lips trembling as he tried not to cry. He had held in most of his tears these last few weeks, and now every tear he had wanted to cry was coming out.

He pulled his lips away and rested his forehead on the set of hands. His body shook from silent sobs, and he couldn't even bring himself to speak again. He didn't know what he could say to a man who might not even be able to hear him.

He sat there for a long ten minutes, trying to relax his sobs and bring himself to stand up again. Eventually he managed, and he stood on shaky feet. He watched with a pang of hurt as Francis's hand fell limply when he let it go slowly.

He whispered softly, stammering more than usual because of recovering from crying. "Goodbye, F-Francis... I'll c-come back t-tonight..."

Matthew left the building, barely keeping himself together.

He kept hanging on to his calmness for the rest of the day, not allowing himself to cry any longer.

When the evening rolled around, he got into his car and drove to the hospital, just as he had promised. However, when he got there, he was told there were too many people trying to visit rooms at once, so he would have to wait.

He took a seat in the bustling waiting room, his head placed in his hands. He tried to focus on happy memories with Francis, instead of considering the worst things that could happen.

Eventually, a tall, thin woman drew him out of his thoughts as she stepped in front of him. He looked up and tilted his head questioningly.

"Matthew Williams? Can you please come with me, sir?"

Matthew stood up with a soft nod and followed the woman, still confused.

He noticed after a moment that she was leading him to Francis's room. He felt his heart sink low into his chest as he realized what that could mean.

Was this nurse bringing him to Francis's room to alert him to Francis's death? Matthew swallowed a hard lump in his throat. He didn't know if he could take seeing Francis as a cold corpse. Seeing him in a limp sleeping form was bad enough.

The nurse opened the door, and Matthew opened the eyes he had squeezed shut as he heard the door creak. It took him a moment, but he let out the breath he didn't even know he was holding.

Francis was no corpse. Not even close... He stood on his own two feet, smiling softly.

The nurse exited the room and shut the door, leaving Francis and Matthew alone.

Matthew felt his heart go heavy once again, but for a different reason entirely. He felt so happy he couldn't even believe it.

Francis stood in his messy glory, his usually silky hair disheveled, and stubble poking out from his chin.

He smiled just as he always had, with a gentle grace, and kindness hidden in his small dimples. Matthew found it stunningly beautiful.

"F-Francis?" Matthew choked out the name.

Francis extended his arms and took a few steps towards Matthew, so Matthew raced forward and tossed his arms around Francis, holding him close and wishing he never had to let go.

"Y-you're here!" Matthew exclaimed, pulling away just enough to meet Francis's eyes.

"Yes, I am." Franco smiled warmly. "And it's all thanks to you."

"Me? How's that?" Matthew sounded puzzled. After a moment, however, his eyes went wide. "You mean... Y-you heard me?"

Francis nodded. "Every word. I'm so proud of you, darling."

Matthew beamed. Everything he had worked for over the last few weeks was paying off.

"I love you s-so much, Francis." Matthew laughs shyly. "It feels so great to s-say that to your face."

Francis brought his lips forward to lock them lightly with Matthew's. As he pulls away, he chuckles warmly.

"I love you so, so, so much, Mathieu."

Matthew looked at Francis's face and noticed a small tear in corner of his eye. His face instantly fell.

"Francis? Are you o-okay?"

Francis smiled and sniffled a bit, leaning forward in the embrace to rest his forehead on Matthew's.

"I'm just so happy to see you..." Francis reached up and hand and placed his thumb lightly on Matthews cheek. He felt the smooth skin on his cheek and smiled. He had missed the touch.

Matthew leaned into his hand with a smile.

"Stay with me... Won't you, Mathieu?" Francis removed his hand from Matthews face and let it rest on Matthews hip instead. "I have to sleep here tonight, I don't want you to go. I've been without you for too many weeks."

Matthew smiled and pressed a kiss to Francis's cheek.

"Of course."

The next morning, when Matthew woke up in the chair next to Francis's bed, Francis whispered "Good morning."

And Matthew was finally able to smile and whisper back "Good morning... I love you."

* * *

A/N: Well hello there, lovely readers! Another Franada fic :3 Sorry, but I love these two so much. I don't know what it is about their characters that makes me love them together, maybe it's just the clash of their personalities that works in such a way that they aren't opposites, but they aren't exactly the same. It seems that I usually like ships like that, but I love these two A LOT. :D

Anyways, I really hope you enjoyed this. I got the prompt from Otpprompts on tumblr, but the idea of Francis hearing Matthew in his coma came from the idea that people in comas can hear or perceive some/all of the things around them.

This is honestly one of my favorite fan fictions that I've written, so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it :)

Okay, I think that's it! Enjoy!

Thanks!

-KayDubs


End file.
